WI1- What If Lucius Lived?
by Jasmin Kenobi
Summary: When the Romulan Empire gets a new Praetor, will the Federation survive his rule? Not if Commander Soleta and Admiral Elizabeth Shelby have anything to say about it! The crews of four ships embark on a journey to save the Federation, but will they succeed? Find out here!
1. Chapter 1

**AN- So this is the first story in my newest "series". I am starting a small series about what-if situations. All of these stories will tie into all of my other stories. All of my stories tie in with each other. Trust me. As I am sure you can derive from the title, this is about what would happen if Lucius survived the events in **_**Treason**_**. There are numerous universes out there that one can explore. This is just one of the many opportunities. (Yes, I have my OCs in here. At least, the ones that apply to this fandom). Quick question: Anyone know where to get a Starfleet Next Gen uniform. I'm gonna try to be in a contest at my local Comicon. Wish me luck for that!**

Chapter One

Soleta looked up from her work when she heard her name. A dark-haired woman stood in the door way, one eyebrow raised and a medical scanner in her hand.

"I'm busy right now, Maya!" Soleta snapped at her chief medical officer (albeit the only medical officer on the damned ship).

"Not right now, you aren't," Maya grinned. Seven of Nine and the Doctor glanced up from their work on the virus to defeat Morgan Primus.

"Is there a problem?" Seven asked.

"Damn right there is. Soleta, when was the last time you stopped by sickbay for any reason?" Maya smirked.

"About four months ago. Why?" Soleta sighed, her irritation obvious.

"Because you are two months overdue for that glorious thing we call a 'check-up'. So, why don't you take a break?" Maya suggested coyly.

"Fine!" Soleta huffed, "As long as it gets you off my ass about this so I can work."

Maya led Soleta to sickbay, where Amanda was fixing a circuit that had shorted out two days ago. The lights flicked on and off as she tinkered with the circuit.

"Hello Commander," Amanda greeted Soleta when she walked into sickbay. Soleta just nodded, already pissed off at Maya and not wanting any bad news.

"You're not gonna like this, but I've got some new intel from the homeworld. Turns out, someone CAN survive AF1963. And said someone is the new Praetor. Any guesses as to who I'm talking about?" Amanda said with a pained expression on her face.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

A man stood on the raised platform before the Romulan Senate. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin. As he sat in the ornate throne of office, his bejeweled robes gathered around him. He stared serenely across the Senate floor at the pair of military officers who stood in the center.

"You have a proposition for this austere body?" he said calmly.

"Yes sir," Commander Donatra began. Her companion interrupted her rudely.

"We wish to begin a program to infiltrate-" he was stopped by a glare from the Praetor.

"How rude of you, Admiral Victus. If I recall correctly, Commander Donatra was speaking before you rather rudely interrupted her. That is not a trait I would prefer in an Admiral such as yourself."

Victus started sweating visibly. The threat in those words was all too clear.

"You may continue, Commander Donatra," the man on the throne said.

She nodded, "Thank you, Praetor. As the Admiral said, the military wishes to pair with Tal Shiar to create a program that would enable agents to infiltrate the highest ranks of our enemies. This would be accomplished with a device of peculiar origin. This device, called a holographic disguise matrix, will enable various agents to wear it and assume the appearance and vocal characteristics of those whom they would replace. This could be used long-term, provided the devices were to be implanted underneath the skin so that day to day activities would not interfere with its operation."

The Praetor smiled benevolently, "Such an idea warrants a discussion in the Senate. Perhaps infiltration exercises could start soon, provided that at least one device can be acquired by that time."

"Yes sir," Commander Donatra replied before bowing deeply and turning to walk out of the Senate hall, followed by Admiral Victus.

"Has this Senate any more propositions to make for the time being?" he asked.

Various denials sounded throughout the Senate chamber. There was one affirmative, however. Senator Tal'Aura stood and made her way to the center of the Senate floor, where a map of the area between Romulan space and Federation space, called the Neutral Zone, was inlaid on the floor.

"I believe a problem may have come up in regards to a rogue Romulan ship in Thallonian and Federation space," Tal'Aura began. The Praetor motioned for her to continue.

Tal'Aura continued quickly, "The spy ship known as the _Spectre_ is currently rogue and known to assist Federation-affiliated people, such as former Thallonian Prime Minister Robin Lefler, who is a former Starfleet officer. Commander Soleta has not deemed fit to return to the Empire. Shortly after Shinzon rose to power, she did attempt to enter Romulan space, only to be forced out by forces who did not know that Shinzon was dead and were loyal to him. I can understand why she does not want to return to an Empire that would fire upon her, but Commander Soleta is being derelict in duty. We found the bodies of her crew floating in space by the Neutral Zone. Either they tried to commit a mutiny so they could return home or she simply launched them out into space. Either option will earn her a disgraceful decommissioning. She could even be executed according to Romulan military law. I have a proposal regarding a different direction to take when it comes to Commander Soleta."

The Senate broke out into whispers and murmurs.

"Carry on," the Praetor said calmly. The Senator nodded.

"I propose that we offer Commander Soleta amnesty in an attempt to draw her across the border. When she arrives at Romulus, we should arrest her and put her on trial. That way, the people will not see us as weak and we will have a traitor in our custody for trial and eventual execution," Tal'Aura finished with a flourish. The entire Senate seemed to hold their breaths as they waited for the Praetor's opinion on this matter.

He smiled and nodded, "Your plan is flawless, Senator. Draft the amnesty offer within two months and I will see about carrying out your plan."

Tal'Aura bowed and walked back to her seat.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

Admiral Elizabeth Shelby of Bravo Station glanced out of the viewport in her office. It had been two months since Morgan Primus had been vanquished for good. Robin Lefler had waited a few months before heading off to work for Katerine Mueller on the _Trident_. Apparently, Mueller had offered her the position of child sitter, for want of a better term.

Her door chime sounded suddenly.

"Enter!" Shelby called out, putting the report she was reading aside.

Soleta walked in, mild irritation on her face. She had been acting strange for some reason, but Shelby had no idea why.

"I need your opinion on something," Soleta said without preamble.

"Go on," Shelby said, curious as to what Soleta wanted.

"In a couple of months, I plan to give up command of the _Spectre_, for reasons I don't want to discuss. Maya and Amanda both have an equal chance, but I don't know which one to promote. I'm leaning towards Maya, because of her experience and her current rank. Amanda has some skills needed, but I'm not so sure about her," Soleta laid out her problem with the grace of an elephant trampling a forest.

"Well, let me look up their records," Shelby said as she turned her datapad on. After a quick search, Shelby was flabbergasted.

"They both have experience with the Federation, but it seems that Amanda has a bit more insight into the workings of the Federation, being a former Starfleet officer. As far as I can tell, I don't really know. What would you prefer in a commander of a ship?" Shelby asked. She was confused as to why the hell Soleta was even asking this. What the hell was going on here?

"Soleta, why are you even asking me this?" she asked, concerned.

Soleta looked uncomfortable and seemed to struggle to formulate an answer. Shelby took that time to take a scan of Soleta and almost gasped aloud.

"Why didn't you just tell me, Soleta?" she asked.

"Tell you what?" Soleta said warily.

"That you're pregnant," Shelby said bluntly. Soleta's face switched emotions quickly. She went from confused to nervous to uncomfortable to sad to angry to resigned in about four seconds.

Soleta looked down at the desk between them, "I don't know what to say. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid of what you would say."

Shelby thought instantly of a teenage girl talking to her parents.

"Who's the father?" she asked. Soleta looked uncomfortable. Realization dawned on Shelby.

"Son of a bitch," was all she could say.

Soleta looked up at her, "Whatever you just thought, you're probably right."

"But, he's dead!" Shelby burst out, confused as hell.

"Yeah, I know," Soleta said softly. So that's why she had been acting so weird lately.

"Dammit, Soleta, you know you can tell me anything!" Shelby said, frustrated.

"I wasn't sure what you would think," Soleta said softly.

"Really? What happened to you, Soleta? You used to not give a damn what any one thought of you and now you're all hot and bothered about what everyone else thinks about you. What the hell is going on?" Shelby snapped, frustrated with Soleta.

Soleta glanced down at the desk again. When she looked back up a few minutes later, she looked pissed.

"Have you seen any of the intelligence reports coming out of the Romulan Empire? Do you even know who the current Praetor is? I think not," Soleta snapped back, her eyes blazing. Shelby sat back in her chair and took a breath.

"I have seen the reports, Soleta. No one knows the Praetor's name but those closest to him. How do you expect me to know who the man's name is?" she said calmly.

"Let me tell you who it is," Soleta said, leaning across the desk towards Shelby.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

Amanda Kryze stepped off the shuttle and walked briskly over to Archer Hall. Cadets and teachers alike stared at her, probably because she was wearing her Romulan military uniform. She walked into Archer Hall and pulled the auditorium doors open. Fourth year students were in there, in an assembly focused around a guest speaker, Captain Katerine Mueller of the _U.S.S. Trident_. The entire assembly halted as the Admiralty Board stared at her.

"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the security guard at the door told her stepping in her path. Amanda smiled slightly.

"How about I give you two options. Option one: You step out of my way nice and easy and no one gets hurt. Option two: I make you. Your choice, _mir'osik_," she said briskly. The guard appeared thoughtful about it for a minute, then pointed his gun at her.

"Bad idea," Amanda said as she grabbed his gun with one hand and punched him in the face with the other. The man dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"You can't just walk in here and attack a security officer!" an Admiral protested.

"I just did, and his dumbass provoked me. Not my problem," Amanda snapped as she walked over to Captain Mueller.

"Captain, I have a message for you from Bravo Station. Admiral Shelby sends her greetings and requests that you head to Bravo Station as soon as possible, at maximum warp. There is a situation developing that you need to be made aware of by the Admiral herself. If you could alert _Excalibur_ while you're en route, that would be very helpful," Amanda told the Captain calmly, handing her a disk. Mueller inserted it into her datapad, looked over it, and nodded.

"Class dismissed," she said. The students rose and left, murmuring to each other in confused whispers.

"You are not allowed to order a Starfleet Captain around! You're a Romulan!" an Admiral burst out angrily.

"Actually, I just delivered a message from a Starfleet officer to a colleague. And secondly, I'm not here as a Romulan officer, seeing as the Empire and I don't get along that well. I'm here as a messenger. So fuck off, old man," Amanda snapped coolly. The Admiral stared.

"You're that one kid, the cadet who lied about her true heritage as a Romulan!" he accused. Amanda smiled.

"There is a difference between lying and not knowing. Let's see, the difference is… the truth. Let me tell you a little tale. I didn't know I was half-Romulan until my adopted mother finally admitted it to me. At least I'm accompanied by my commanding officer, Commander Soleta, who also happens to understand that Starfleet has a zero tolerance policy for Romulans, yet has a Klingon officer," Amanda said frostily. The Admiral noticed that he was treading on thin ice and quickly shut up.

"I'll alert my crew and head to Bravo Station to see what kind of crap Elizabeth's gotten herself into this time," Mueller said, walking towards the doors. The Admiralty Board just sat there in silence as Amanda turned back to them. She smiled and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a commlink and flipped it open.

"One to beam over," Amanda ordered JARVIS, who currently had taken up a temporary residence in the shuttle she had used to come to Earth.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

Maya T'Jul smiled to herself as she sat in a Starfleet brig. The plan had gone off without a hitch. She had wandered into a Starfleet exploration party and gotten captured. As was planned, she was now on the _Enterprise_, which carried her target. Her voice command had activated JARVIS, who was embedded in the system via her false ID chip she had been carrying. Now the crew believed they were still going to their next destination, but were really en route to Bravo Station. Admiral Shelby would brief them there and send them on their way on a new mission.

Captain Picard walked in, followed by Commander Worf and Doctor Crusher.

"Why were you on an uncharted world?" Picard asked bluntly. Maya smiled.

"Because I was bored and you guys are idiots," she laughed. The Klingon looked irritated.

"You're lying," Crusher said bluntly, holding a medical tricorder.

"Of course I am. Tell me, are you still headed to Deneva to seed some new colonists?" she asked innocently.

"How do you know about that?" Worf asked.

"Because my employer told me what I needed to know in order to get aboard this ship and divert your course to a certain place," Maya said briskly.

"Who employed you? Where are we going?" Picard asked, although it sounded to Maya like he was demanding an answer.

"Let's just say all will be revealed in good time. We'll be dropping out of warp speed in about two minutes. JARVIS, are we still on course?" she said happily.

JARVIS replied instantly, "Yes, and _Trident _and _Excalibur_ have confirmed that they are en route as well."

"Who is that?" Worf said, brandishing his phaser.

"That, my friend, is JARVIS. He was the AI system for Tony Stark. My friend loaned me a copy of his programming to help in this job," Maya smiled.

The intership comm system buzzed to life suddenly, "_Captain Picard to the bridge. We are coming out of warp speed, but we're not at Deneva. It seems we're at Bravo Station._"

"What the hell are we doing at Bravo Station?" Picard wondered aloud. An almost musical sound alerted them to the presence of another individual in the brig.

Worf spun around and pointed his phaser at the person, only to lower it again.

"Admiral Shelby," Picard greeted their guest.

She ignored him, "Seems you do know how to work that chip I gave you, Maya. Good, but still. You almost gave it away that this was all part of the plan."

"All part of the service," Maya said with a smile as she pulled a comm out of her boot and pressed a button to be beamed out.

"Damn. I can't believe you guys fell for that," Shelby laughed before walking out of the brig, leaving Picard, Worf, and Crusher sitting there in shock.

"We need to get a better system on this ship," Worf grumbled.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

The conference room Maya was directed to was already abuzz with confused murmurs. Captain Mackenzie Calhoun stood sullenly against the wall talking with Commander Burgoyne 172 and Commander Soleta, who looked grumpy as usual. Captain Katerine Mueller sat in a chair, chatting casually with Robin Lefler and Romeo Takahashi. Admiral Shelby was talking quietly with Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Commander Worf. Amanda was nowhere to be seen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, could you please take a seat, because I ain't got all day and I know for a fact that the Federation doesn't either," a new voice drawled, silencing them all. Amanda stood at the podium at the front of the room, tapping it randomly.

"Thank you. As I'm sure you all know, two people were thought to be dead as a result of the events at AF1963. One of those people survived and is now the Federation's worst enemy. The Romulan Empire is to be considered hostile and so is Starfleet Command, for the time being. Your ships have been selected to complete a set of dangerous missions that could result in war. There is no margin for error. That's why you were selected. You will be briefed individually over the next few days on a need to know basis. All of your missions will meet in one place and time in an operation we shall refer to as Operation: Endgame. If you have any questions, speak now or forever hold your peace," Amanda said, not even showing her customary casual smile. The assorted personnel looked around and only one hand was raised.

"Who exactly is it that survived AF1963?" Calhoun asked, "Please tell me that I'm wrong and that my perception here is just my imagination."

"All I'm going to tell you is that he is the Praetor of the Romulan Empire. I'm sure that answers your question, Captain Calhoun," she said.

"_Grozit_," Calhoun sighed.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

"Thank you for coming today, Captain Picard," Amanda said easily with a smile. As Picard sat down, she slid a data tablet over to him. He glanced over it and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you crazy?" he asked.

"Absolutely," she answered with a laugh. He sighed.

"Any questions?" Admiral Shelby asked plainly.

"No ma'am," Picard said. Shelby nodded at the door. Picard stood and walked out quietly, deep in thought.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

"Whew!" Maya gasped, wiping her forehead in mock exhaustion, "All of the briefings are done and the ships are on their way to begin their respective missions."

Picard and _Enterprise_ had been sent to complete Operation: Borderlands and survey all Romulan military ship movements from their vantage point patrolling the Neutral Zone. Calhoun and _Excalibur_ were sent to complete Operation: Sneak Attack and interdict a cargo ship carrying cloaking devices for Romulan military ships. The cargo ship just so happened to be crossing Thallonian space, which was illegal, or course. Mueller and _Trident_ were to complete Operation: Fast and Furious and attempt to bargain for hyperdrives from scrapped Rebel ships. Princess Organa had agreed to barter three hyperdrives off to the Federation.

Now the _Spectre_ had been tasked to complete Operation: Blackhawk and sneak into Romulan space to survey the Romulan homeworld and collect intelligence from former Listeners that were still in Romulan space. Admiral Shelby stayed on Bravo Station to receive all of the reports and organize Operation: Endgame. The end was coming. The only thing that mattered now was that the Federation won…

To Be Continued in Chapter 2

**AN- How do you like this so far? Next chapter will be Operation Borderlands. Good luck. You're gonna need it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN- Hello and welcome to the next chapter. Here we get into Operation: Borderlands. Sorry about the cheesy names. I literally thought of them in two minutes flat. A record, now that I think about it. Y'all should really check out some of the other New Frontier stories, canon or fanfiction. They're really cool.**

Chapter Two- Operation: Borderlands

Jean-Luc Picard sat in his chair on the bridge, silently fuming. Whose idea was it to let a Romulan ship dictate what Starfleet was to do in this situation? Certainly not Starfleet Command's idea. Probably Shelby's. She was known to be a bit of a renegade.

"Captain, there is no sign of any Romulan ships, cloaked or not," Lieutenant T'Ryssa Chen reported from her temporary post at the science station. Their ordinary science officer had the flu, which was strange, so Chen had taken over. She had changed since she had first come aboard _Enterprise_. She had been hyperactive and quite frankly annoying when she had first come aboard, but now she had calmed down a little bit. At least she could focus on her bridge duties now.

Worf looked slightly disgruntled. He still wasn't happy that a Romulan had tricked them and that they hadn't realized the course change had occurred until it was too late.

"Perhaps this was all some sort of trap," Chen mused aloud, "But I don't think Maya would do that. She's a really nice person, y'know."

Picard looked at the lieutenant in surprise.

"You know the Romulan doctor?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yep. I got to babysit her daughter once when a civilian shuttle docked at the station I was on when I was in the Academy. There was a medical emergency and they needed as many doctors as they could get. My entire fourth-year training mission got diverted to help with that," Chen replied.

"Ah," Beverly Crusher's voice sounded from the turbolift, "I remember that. Several powers responded, including the Romulan and Klingon Empires. Even the Rebel Alliance agreed on a truce with the Galactic Empire so both could help."

"Yea! I met Princess Leia there! She seemed kinda sad, but I thought that was because her mom had died recently," Chen agreed. Picard raised his eyebrow.

"Sorry," Chen mumbled, "I'm babbling a bit, aren't I?"

"Yes," Worf said before Picard could say anything. Chen looked down at her station and continued her work in silence.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

The Romulan ship dropped out of warp speed, cloaked. Commander Donatra stood up from her seat on the bridge. She had taken over the helm, as her usual seat was occupied by Senator Tal'Aura.

"Hail the Federation ship," Tal'Aura ordered. Decurion Telsa glanced at Donatra. She nodded at the Decurion, signaling him to comply with the Senator's orders to the letter.

"Hailing them," Telsa reported. It took several minutes for the Federation ship to reply. When they did, Telsa's jaw dropped.

"Commander!" Telsa gasped, "It's the Starfleet ship that helped us take down Shinzon!"

Donatra leaned back on her heels before dropping into her seat and maneuvering her ship closer to the Federation ship.

"What are you doing?" Tal'Aura demanded.

"Letting them know who we are," Donatra said as she flipped the ship so that her name was clear to the _Enterprise_.

"What do we do, Commander?" Telsa asked.

"We wait," was Donatra's only reply.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

"Captain?" Chen asked as Picard just stared at the screen.

"Well then," he muttered, "Open a hailing frequency. Let's say hello to our old friends."

Chen gave him a strange look but didn't ask any questions. The familiar face of Romulan Commander Donatra appeared on screen. She was seated at the helm position, while what appeared to be a Senator sat in the Commander's seat.

"_Captain Picard. It has been awhile, hasn't it?_" Donatra greeted them.

"Likewise, Commander. If I may ask, why have you infringed on Federation territory?" Picard asked.

"_Actually, Captain, it was a pure mistake that we ran across your ship,_" the Senator explained, "_We were searching for a ship called _Spectre_. The Romulan Empire wishes to welcome that ship back into our military. Perhaps you may have met that ship in your travels?_"

"I'm afraid not, ma'am. Perhaps another ship has. I will, or course, contact Starfleet Command and inquire as to whether they have any idea about where that ship is. I have heard the name before, but merely in passing. If you would wait here, I can have an answer in twelve hours," Picard suggested.

The Senator smiled, "_Of course we don't mind waiting. Twelve hours, Captain Picard. That is all you have. If you cannot reply in that time, we will continue our search, WITHIN Federation space. Jolan'tru, Captain._"

The link closed and Picard leaned back in his chair.

"What are we going to do now?" Beverly asked him, not the least bit of sarcasm in her voice.

"I can't believe that I'm going to do this, but get me the Betazed Admiralty Board. I need to know where the Jedi Order in this galaxy is. Perhaps they can help us," Picard said with a sigh, rubbing a hand over his head.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

"Master?"

Jedi Grand Master T'Mir opened her eyes and turned towards the child standing in front of her. The child was a Romulan boy and he looked rather scared.

"Yes?" T'Mir asked softly, trying to subconsciously assuage the boy's fears.

"There is a commun- communica-, a message for you, Master. It is from Betazed," he informed her, stumbling over some of the words.

"I will take it here," T'Mir told the boy. He nodded and hurried out. Almost exactly a minute later, the laughter of children could be heard outside of her little hut. The Jedi Order had been founded here by Kora, who had preferred small individual, or in some cases, family huts to house the Jedi who lived here. Many Jedi had started to order materials to construct more modern houses that they could live in. Many of the older Jedi still preferred the huts and the large stone building that was used for training. But the time for arguments over living spaces was over. Danger was coming and they all could sense it.

T'Mir slid the chip into her communications system and played the message. It was basic, saying she should contact them at her earliest convenience. T'Mir let a small sigh out before contacting the Betazed Planetary Communications Center.

A woman's face appeared on-screen.

"_I'm glad to see you could contact us this soon, Master T'Mir. I hope that we didn't bother you, but we were contacted by someone who has an interest in contacting the Jedi Order. Would you like to speak with him?_" Admiral Saratoga asked. She was an older woman who was nearing 250 years old, close to retirement, as rumor had it. Her hair was completely grey and she had long since lost her legendary ability to shift forms like a Suliban.

"I believe I will. Patch it through. You may feel free to listen and cut them off if I give the word," T'Mir said, following standard communications procedure. The view shifted from Saratoga's face to that of Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the _Enterprise_.

"Captain Picard. May I inquire as to why you have endeavored to contact the Jedi Order?" T'Mir asked politely.

"_Of course. We have a bit of a situation on our hands. A Romulan ship carrying a Senator was searching for the_ Spectre_. I do not believe they have the best intentions in mind for when they do find them. Perhaps you and the Jedi Order could be of assistance in this matter?_" Picard suggested vaguely. T'Mir thought about it for a minute. Only a minute.

"It would be unfortunate if the _Spectre_ was currently in the Badlands. It would take weeks to search the Badlands thoroughly, by which time the _Spectre_ would already be out of the Badlands. Unfortunate, yes?" T'Mir said cryptically.

"_Perhaps. If they do not believe us?_" Picard asked.

"Tell them that it is your best guess as to where the _Spectre_ would be. Remind them that the ship has both ion glide and cloaking capabilities," T'Mir ordered, falling back into her old role as a Jedi Commander during the Clone Wars.

"_Can I know where the ship actually is, ma'am? Perhaps I could warn them,_" Picard said politely. T'Mir sighed.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

T'Ryssa Chen was surprised to see a Vulcan appear on the screen when they had contacted the Jedi Order. But now, she had a strange look on her face when Captain Picard asked where the ship was.

"_No. I will not. I made a promise and I will not go back on that,_" Jedi Grand Master T'Mir said quietly. She looked kinda pissed. That must be a bad thing.

"Very well," Captain Picard said diplomatically, "I will allow you to inform the _Spectre_ of their impending visitors. Perhaps the crew will succeed in evading capture."

"_I hope so, Captain. I hope so,_" the Vulcan woman replied before severing the link, leaving them with the image of Betazoid Admiral Saratoga, who looked very nervous.

"_Well, Captain. It seems you are one of the few who has succeeded in getting a reaction from her. Hell, even I can't and I can be very annoying,_" she said with a smile, "_Well, good luck on your journeys._"

"Likewise," Picard said before closing the link. He leaned back slightly in his chair and sighed.

"Well, that went well," T'Ryssa said lightly.

"Indeed," Picard replied drily.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

"What is taking them so long?" Senator Tal'Aura wondered aloud, for the tenth time.

"I can't say I know. That would be a lie," Donatra replied evenly, "We did give them twelve hours to respond. If they do not know where that ship is, I suggest looping back through Romulan space and attempting to find _Excalibur_ and Calhoun. They seem to be rather friendly with that ship."

"Indeed. That is an excellent idea, Commander. However, it is a foolish idea. Calhoun will most likely refuse to give up that information and he is rather resistant to most methods of persuasion," Tal'Aura replied before standing up, "I will be in my quarters. Alert me when the _Enterprise_ contacts us."

"Well, you might as well not go anywhere. They just contacted us," Decurion Telsa reported. Tal'Aura favored him with a furious glare before sitting back down.

"Respond," Donatra ordered before Tal'Aura could say a word. She felt the glare of the Senator as she turned her back on the woman and faced the screen, still seated at the helm position.

"Captain Picard. I hope you have news for us," Tal'Aura said calmly, betraying no signs of her fury towards Telsa and Donatra.

"_I'm afraid that Starfleet Command has no idea as to the whereabouts of the_ Spectre_. However, they did suggest to me that reports of a cloaked ship had been recently sent in from a ship near the Badlands. That is all I can give you right now. I hope you find that ship soon,_" Picard said before cutting the link and moving off along their patrol route.

"Well," Donatra said, turning to Tal'Aura, "What do you think we should do now, _Senator_."

The other woman chuckled a little bit, "_I_ will be continuing the search. You and Decurion Telsa will be enjoying this ship's fine hospitality, in the brig. I hope that is not a problem."

"You cannot remove me from command of my ship!" Donatra snapped furiously.

"I just did!" Tal'Aura replied briskly, "Security to the bridge. Please escort Commander Donatra and Decurion Telsa to the brig."

"Yes ma'am," the security officers flanking her chair replied.

"I'm not going," Donatra said stubbornly, grabbing Telsa's arm and pushing him back down in his chair, even as he stood up, "And neither are you, Decurion. Remain at your post. I will deal with the ever so charming Senator."

"Commander," Telsa said quietly, "It would be easier to go willingly than to risk being injured or killed by the security officers."

That stopped Donatra. Everything slowed down. She saw Tal'Aura's smile and the weapons in the hands of the security guards. She saw the turbolift opening to emit more guards onto the bridge. Then it struck her. Her supposedly loyal officers were betraying her, following orders to commit a mutiny against Donatra. And her foolishness had taken down a young and promising officer with her. She knew what she had to do.

"I surrender," she said, startling Tal'Aura, "On one condition: Decurion Telsa remains free. It was my mistakes that brought him down. He does not deserve that."

"My, my, Commander. Is this what I think it is? Are you willingly going to give up your life for him? What a loyal officer!" the other woman smiled cruelly.

"What do you mean, my life?" Donatra asked cautiously. The security officers grabbed her wrists and pulled her towards the turbolift. As they dragged her down the corridors, her former officers and crew stared at her with a mix of pity and fury in their eyes.

"Enjoy the stay," the security goon said as he shoved her into the brig, "It won't be for too much longer."

Donatra sighed and made herself comfortable. This was going to be an interesting trip.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

Jean-Luc Picard stared at the message that scrolled across the comm panel in his quarters. There had been a mutiny on Commander Donatra's ship and the Commander was in the brig while the Senator controlled the ship. A simple Decurion had risked his life to send this message.

He tapped his commbadge, "Captain to the bridge. All senior officers report to the conference room immediately."

Picard did a rather quick speed walk to the conference room. When he walked in, all of his senior officers were already there. He didn't say a word to any of them; rather, he stepped over to the viewing screen and typed in a key code.

"Captain?" Worf asked. Picard turned to them.

"About ten minutes ago, I happened to receive a message from a Decurion Telsa aboard Commander Donatra's ship. There has been a mutiny against the Commander and she is now in the brig. Senator Tal'Aura has taken over. If we want that ship to stay out of Federation space, we need to free Commander Donatra. Any ideas?"

Chen raised her hand sheepishly," This is gonna sound really stupid, but what if we try to get this Telsa person to help. Like, be our link there and, well, spy for us. Try to keep the Senator busy with ship malfunctions and that stuff so we can sneak a line in there and wiretap them. It might work, but we need an inside source."

Picard was surprised by how serious Chen was. The half-Vulcan was rarely calm and serious, but she had her moments.

"That might just work," Beverly added in. Picard glanced at his wife. She looked a little tired, but other than that, stressed.

Chen grinned, "Well, there is one problem I just realized. How are we going to actually break the Commander out of the brig? Should we have Telsa fake a scanner malfunction and beam a team aboard?"

"_Actually,_" a new voice said, "_Why not let me handle that ship?_"

Picard turned to see the familiar face of Admiral Saratoga on the screen.

"Must you always hack into the systems?" he said, exasperated.

"_Actually, there is someone willing to help you here with me. She's a bit of a shocker when you see her and realize who she is,_" Saratoga said before the view turned to a Romulan woman wearing the uniform of the Tal Shiar.

"_Hello Captain Picard. It's good to see you again. I am Chairwoman Zafriana of Tal Shiar. Infortunantly, my predecessor met with a rather terrible accident. Perhaps I can get aboard that ship and do what you cannot,_" the Romulan introduced herself.

"I don't see why not. I would allow us to continue with our patrol route. How much do you know?" Picard asked wearily.

"_I know everything. I am your inside source, Captain. Admiral Shelby contacted me and informed me of the dilemma. I truly do hate the man. He divorced my granddaughter because he didn't like her job. What a douche,_" she said rather honestly.

"Do what you must, Chairwoman. Good luck," Picard said before she smiled and cut the link.

"Why in the hell would she contact us," he mused aloud after the link was severed.

"Maybe to help," Chen said sarcastically. Worf scowled at her.

"Lieutenant!" he barked. She blushed.

"I know, I know. Keep sarcasm off the bridge and out of my duties," she mumbled, looking down at the table.

"Well, then. That's it then. We let the Chairwoman deal with this. Picard to the bridge," he said, tapping his commbadge.

"_Chase here, Captain. Go ahead,_" came the reply from Communications officer Ensign Jordan Chase.

"Continue our preset patrol route. Keep an eye out for any transmissions, though. If anyone contacts _Enterprise_, I want to know about it," he ordered.

"_Yes, sir. I will alert you to any transmissions. Does this include transmission to crew members from family or friends?_" Chase asked.

"If it looks suspicious, yes. But generally, no," Picard replied, "Picard out."

Chen stood up and looked around, "I better get back to the science station. The new guy is manning it right now and he hasn't even been through equipment orientation yet."

She quickly walked out, followed by Worf and the other officers. Soon, it was just Picard and Beverly left.

"So," she began. He sat down and gestured for her to sit next to him.

Beverly sat down and sighed, "This is it. We might as well be witnessing the fall of the Federation."

Picard visibly recoiled, "Don't say that, Beverly! We might be able to save the Federation. We just need to have hope. I wonder why we were even selected to join this happy little party."

Beverly smiled, "Maybe because Amanda suggested us for it. Shelby seems to have taken a liking to the girl. She needs all the guidance she can get, especially when she happens to be in line for command."

"What do you mean?" Picard asked, "Why would she be in line for command?"

"When we were at Bravo Station, I visited their sickbay at the request of Admiral Shelby. Turns out, she wanted a second opinion on something. Commander Soleta was there. Apparently, she's giving up command in about a month. I did a scan and found out that she was, well, pregnant," Beverly said awkwardly, "So, I guess either Amanda or Maya is getting command. I wouldn't expect Silvia to get command at such a young age."

Picard laughed, "Beverly, you know that just because an officer is young, it doesn't mean they don't have a chance to get command!"

"Jean-Luc!" Beverly mock admonished him, "She's not even ten years old!"

The couple laughed until Picard suddenly got serious.

"Off to work then. I will see you after our shift ends, Beverly," Picard said as he stood. Beverly stood and the pair shared a kiss before heading off in opposite directions.

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

Donatra sat in the brig, contemplating her future. She knew it would be short, yet she wanted something to come out of it. She was starting to regret her decision to never marry or have children. She was thinking all of this when Senator Tal'Aura came by to visit her, followed by another woman.

"How nice of you to finally have time to visit me, Senator," Donatra yawned, feigning disinterest in what Tal'Aura had to say to her.

"Perhaps your attitude about your last days will change when you hear what I have to say," Tal'Aura snapped. The other woman shifted and leaned back on her heels, as if she was preparing to attack.

"Whatever," Donatra muttered, turning away from the pair of women and staring at the ceiling as she laid on the small bunk in her cell.

"Commander, do listen," the other woman said, "Perhaps something good could come out of this."

"Like hell," she said bluntly, putting on a defiant act.

"Commander, mind your manners. You are speaking with Chairwoman Zafriana of the Tal Shiar. I hope you recall your previous service to them," Tal'Aura said rudely, dredging up Donatra's memories of her past.

~()~

_"I hope that you have a mission for me, Chairwoman," the young woman said to the blond Romulan. The other person turned towards her._

_ "Of course I do, Colonel Donatra. I am glad to see that you have such an interest in your work," Sela said with an evil-looking smile._

_~()~_

_ "You cannot leave!" Sela snapped._

_ "Try to stop me!" Donatra replied defiantly, throwing her uniform at Sela._

_ "You will regret your actions today," Sela threatened._

_ "Like hell I will!"_

~()~

"Joy," Donatra sighed, turning back towards the pair of women.

Zafriana smiled and made a covert gesture towards the ceiling, meaning that she was here to help, not harm.

"Well, now, Commander. Now that we have your attention-" she was stopped by a voice calling at her down the hall.

"Senator! We have picked up traces of the _Spectre_! Your presence is needed on the bridge at once!" the familiar voice of Decurion Telsa yelled down the hallway.

"Very well," Tal'Aura replied, "Chairwoman, you may do as you wish."

As soon as Tal'Aura turned her back, Zafriana had her in a headlock and had expertly performed a Vulcan nerve pinch, dropping the other woman. She stepped over to the cell door and slid a lock breaker into the old-fashioned key hole. The door unlocked with a click and Zafriana stood there, smiling.

"Commander. I was actually sent to assist in your escape and the recapture of your ship. The crew fears me, so that part is already done," the chairwoman reported.

"What about the _Spectre_?" Donatra asked, confused.

"It was never here. You have a very loyal officer. I believe he is overdue for a promotion," Zafriana suggested.

"Perhaps you are right. I will personally congratulate _Centurion_ Telsa on his new promotion and duties that come with it," Donatra said. She walked briskly to the bridge and walked in.

"You aren't supposed to be here," a security guard snapped.

"Go to hell," Donatra smiled as she sat down, "Senator Tal'Aura is currently unconscious. So please, spare me your stupidity. I am in command now. If you have any questions, please refer to Chairwoman Zafriana of Tal Shiar, who is currently aboard this ship."

The security guard stood down and silently walked out of the bridge.

"I'm glad to see that you remain free, _Centurion_ Telsa," Donatra said, "At least Tal'Aura can hold up on her promises."

The new centurion smiled with pride.

"Get me the _Enterprise_," Donatra ordered, "And continue our course without going into Federation space."

! #$%^&*())(*&^%$# !

Jean-Luc Picard smiled at the viewscreen. Commander Donatra had regained control of her ship rather easily, to his surprise. Maybe Chairwoman Zafriana was more qualified than he thought she was.

"So, Commander. I see you have regained control of your ship. Congratulations," he said.

Donatra inclined her head graciously, "_Indeed, Captain. We will be resuming our search from our side of the Neutral Zone. If you could be so kind as to alert any ships in the area that any smaller vessels we send out are merely for scanning purposes only, it would be appreciated._"

"Of course," Picard said, "It would make things far easier around here if communication between two rivals were this easy."

Donatra gave a small smile, "_Indeed. Jolan'tru, Captain._"

With that, the communication ended. Picard leaned back in his chair and glanced around the bridge. Beverly was standing behind T'Ryssa Chen, looking at some readout scrolling across her screen. Worf was glowering from his seat next to Picard. Jasminder Choudhury stood at the tactical station, focused on her work. Miranda Kadohata was standing by the turbolift, in sweats and wrapped in a blanket, but focused on what Chen was explaining to Beverly and occasionally adding input on whatever was being discussed.

"Continue our course heading along the Neutral Zone," he ordered Joanna Faur at her helm station, "Continue scanning for any signs of military activity. Lieutenant Kadohata."

"Sir?" the woman asked, sniffling.

"Perhaps you should find somewhere to sit," Picard suggested.

"Good idea, sir," she said, sounding terribly congested. She sat down at a chair by Chen and the trio of women continued their conversation quietly, broken only by the occasional sniffle from Kadohata or a giggle from Chen.

**AN- Okay, Borderlands will be continued next chapter, because this just got way too long and I have to update my other stories before May, so I need to get to writing them. And just so you crazy people know, this is not the longest chapter I have ever written. My chapters will continuously get longer. Just hope that I don't accidentally lose all of my work over the summer. You all would be screwed! Jolan'tru!**


End file.
